Causes of mental health problems. The concept of mental health. Factors affecting mental health

They can be conditionally divided into two groups: objective, or environmental factors, and subjective, due to individual personal characteristics.

Let us first discuss the influence of environmental factors. They are usually understood as family unfavorable factors and unfavorable factors associated with children's institutions, professional activities, and the socio-economic situation in the country. It is clear that environmental factors are most significant for the psychological health of children and adolescents, so we will reveal them in more detail.

Quite often, the difficulties of the child originate in infancy (from birth to a year). It is well known that the most significant factor in the normal development of an infant's personality is communication with the mother, and a lack of communication can lead to various kinds of developmental disorders in the child. However, in addition to the lack of communication, other, less obvious types of interaction between mother and baby can be distinguished, which adversely affect psychological health. Thus, the pathology of an overabundance of communication, which leads to overexcitation and overstimulation of the child, is opposite to the lack of communication. It is this upbringing that is quite typical for many modern families, but it is it that is traditionally regarded as favorable and is not perceived as a risk factor either by the parents themselves or even by psychologists, so we will describe it in more detail. Overexcitation and overstimulation of the child can be observed in the case of maternal overprotection with the removal of the father, when the child plays the role of the mother's "emotional crutch" and is in a symbiotic relationship with her. Such a mother constantly stays with the child, does not leave ᴇᴦο for a minute, because she feels good with him, because without a child she feels emptiness and loneliness. Another option is continuous excitation, selectively directed to one of the functional areas - nutrition or bowel movement. As a rule, this variant of interaction is implemented by an anxious mother, who is madly worried about whether the child has eaten the prescribed grams of milk, whether and how regularly she has emptied her intestines. Usually she is well acquainted with all the norms of child development. For example, she carefully monitors whether the child began to roll over from his back to his stomach in time. And if he is delayed with the coup for several days, he is very worried and runs to the doctor.

The next type of pathological relationships is the alternation of overstimulation with the emptiness of relationships, i.e. structural disorganization, disorder, discontinuity, anarchy of the child's life rhythms. In Russia, this type is most often implemented by a student mother, i.e., who does not have the opportunity to constantly care for the child, but then tries to make amends for her guilt with continuous caresses.

Factors that affect mental health are divided into predisposing, provoking and supporting.

predisposing factors. These factors increase a person's susceptibility to mental illness and increase the likelihood of developing it when exposed to provoking factors. Predisposing factors can be genetically determined, biological, psychological and social.

At present there is no doubt genetic predisposition diseases such as schizophrenia, some forms of dementia, affective disorders, epilepsy.

For example, the risk of schizophrenia for the general population is 0.7-1%, and for monozygotic twins - 40-50%. If one parent has schizophrenia, then the risk of developing the disease in a child is from 10 to 19%, and if both parents are sick, then 27-60%. The risk of developing an emotional disorder increases to 24-30% if one of the parents is sick, and up to 35-44% if both are sick.

The study by the genealogical method (the study of pedigrees) of the families of persons suffering from mental illness has convincingly shown the accumulation of cases of psychoses and personality anomalies in them. An increase in the incidence of the disease among close relatives was found for patients with schizophrenia, manic-depressive psychosis (MDP), epilepsy, and some forms of oligophrenia. The summary data are given in the table.

Risk of disease for relatives of the mentally ill (in %)

In genetic analysis, it is important to take into account the clinical form of the disease. In particular, the hereditary risk of schizophrenia depends largely on the clinical form of the disease.

The results of clinical genetic studies help to determine the degree of risk of a disease or the birth of a mentally handicapped child, outline preventive measures and make a prognosis for the development of mental illness. Establishing the fact of hereditary predisposition also helps in the differential diagnosis of endogenous (hereditary) disorders of mental activity and diseases of exogenous (as a result of external causes) etiology. It is often difficult to solve this problem without clinical genetic data. An example is the difficulty of differential diagnosis of microcephaly with mental retardation, which can occur both as a result of a monogenic recessive mutation, and under the influence of fetal intoxication with maternal alcoholism, when the mother uses teratogenic drugs, and when exposed to X-ray radiation. Medical genetics is not limited to the study of the role of the hereditary factor in mental illness and the frequency of hereditary diseases. It also examines the regularities that govern their distribution in population groups (populations) in various geographic areas, regions, among people of different nationalities and in many other groups, which determine the preservation and change of the genotype of a disease with a change of generations.

A certain predisposing value for the development of mental illness are personal characteristics. For example, in an anxious by nature, prone to doubt, an individual with a traumatic event can more easily develop states of obsessive fears or anxious depression.

There is the concept of "neuroticism", which determines the degree of emotional stability - from resentment, irritability, mood swings at one end of the spectrum to balance at the other. These personality variables are genetically determined. They also talk about "emotional strength", meaning by this term an even temperament and the ability of a person to easily cope with stress and adverse life situations. A low level of "emotional strength" is typical for people who are passive, with increased sensitivity, who tend to experience unpleasant events for a long time, who are insecure, with low self-esteem, and emotionally labile. Such individuals, when faced with life's difficulties, are at greater risk of developing a mental disorder.

Personality characteristics can not only have a nonspecific effect on the development of a mental disorder, but also affect the formation of the clinical picture of the disease.

Biological factors that increase the risk of developing a mental disorder or illness include age.

In certain age periods, a person becomes more vulnerable in stressful situations. These periods include: primary school age, in which there is a high prevalence of fears; adolescence (12-18 years), which is characterized by increased emotional sensitivity and instability, behavioral disorders, including drug use, acts of self-harm and suicide attempts; the period of involution - with characteristic personality changes and a decrease in reactivity to the effects of psychological and socio-environmental factors.

Many mental illnesses have a pattern of development at a certain age. Schizophrenia often develops in adolescence or young age, the peak of drug dependence occurs at 18-24 years, the number of depressions increases at involutionary age, senile dementia is the lot of the elderly and old people. In general, the peak incidence of typical mental disorders occurs in middle age.

Age not only affects the frequency of development of mental disorders, but also gives a kind of "age" coloring to their manifestations. For childhood, fears of the dark, animals, fairy-tale characters are characteristic. Mental disorders of old age (delusions, hallucinations) often reflect everyday experiences - damage, poisoning, exposure and all sorts of tricks to "get rid of them, old people."

Floor also to a certain extent determines the frequency and nature of mental disorders. Men are more likely than women to suffer from schizophrenia, alcoholism, drug addiction. But in women, the abuse of alcohol and psychotropic substances leads to the development of drug addiction faster and the disease is more malignant than in men.

Men and women react differently to stressful events. This is due to their different socio-biological characteristics. Women are more emotional and more likely than men to experience depression and emotional disturbances.

Biological conditions specific to the female body, such as pregnancy, childbirth, the postpartum period, menopause, carry many social problems and psychotraumatic factors. During these periods, the vulnerability of women increases, social and domestic problems are actualized. Only women can develop postpartum psychosis or depression with fear for the health of the child. Involutional psychoses develop more often in women. An unwanted pregnancy is a severe stress for a girl, and if the father of the unborn child leaves the girl, then the development of a severe depressive reaction, including those with suicidal intentions, is not ruled out. Women are more likely to experience sexual violence or abuse, resulting in various forms of mental health problems, more often in the form of depression. Girls who have been sexually abused are more susceptible to mental health problems later on.

The hierarchy of social values ​​in women and men is different. For a woman, family and children are more important; for men - his prestige, work. Therefore, a common cause of the development of neurosis in women is trouble in the family, personal problems, and in men - a conflict at work or dismissal.

Even crazy ideas bear the imprint of social and gender identity. For example, the murder of children - as a protection against imminent disaster or as an instrument of revenge on a spouse - is more common among women.

Women are more inclined to recognize the disease, express psychological complaints and remember psychopathological symptoms. Men tend to "forget" their symptoms.

Mental health is directly related to the condition physical health. Physical health problems can cause short-term mental illness or chronic illness. Mental disorders are detected in 40-50% of patients with somatic diseases.

important impact on mental health social factors. They can be divided into socio-environmental, socio-economic, socio-political, environmental.

Man is not only a biological being, but also a social one. A child deprived of a social environment cannot become a full-fledged person, he does not master speech, has no idea about the rules of social behavior. Since a person lives in a society, he must obey its laws and respond to changes taking place in social life.

Of all the social factors a family - main. Its impact on mental health can be seen at any age. But it is of particular importance for the child, for the formation of his character, stereotypes of behavior in various situations.

Unstable cold relations in the family, the manifestation of cruelty primarily affect the mental health of the child. This is due to the fragility of his psyche, the immaturity of emotions and a violent response to negative events. If the child is not able to cope with the situation, behavioral disorders begin to appear in him, a stereotypical pathological reaction to stress is formed, which later, in adulthood, will result in neurotic or psychopathic personality development, aggression, and various psychosomatic diseases.

A lack of parental love often leads to the development of depression in a child. The feeling of insecurity in the family and society is often manifested in the child by various fears, communication disorders, behavioral reactions (protest, disobedience).

Another pathogenic factor for the mental development of the child is situation of social deprivation, due to discord in the family, the loss of loved ones or separation from them. Social deprivation leads to mental retardation, emotional disturbances in the form of depression, emotional coldness, decreased will, exhaustion of motives, increased suggestibility, and communication disorders. Such children are easily involved in antisocial and criminal groups, are prone to substance abuse, sexual promiscuity. It was noted that the death of a mother or the divorce of parents quite often provoked the development of fears in children.

Losses and problems in childhood increase an individual's susceptibility to stress and mental disorders, but do not lead directly to the development of a specific mental illness. Nevertheless, children living in dysfunctional families experiencing adverse environmental effects are at risk of developing a mental illness and should be in the focus of attention not only of social workers or educators, but also of psychologists and psychiatrists.

For an adult, family relationships are also important for mental health. In a family with a comfortable psychological climate, with emotional support, the negative impact on the personality of life events is mitigated.

If interpersonal relationships in the family are formal, indifferent, then there is a deficit in the emotional sphere and a lack of support in problem situations. Families of this type are risk factors for mental health disorders.

If conflict relations are observed in a family, cruel attitude towards children or a spouse, then such a family itself becomes a factor in the development of mental disorders.

Social factors that affect mental health include problems related to work, housing, social dissatisfaction, social disasters and wars.

Foreign researchers have shown that depression occurs more often among representatives of the middle and lower social strata, where the burden of life events and circumstances prevails.

Depression often develops in people who have lost their jobs. And unemployment is more likely to contribute to the development of depression in those who have lost their jobs in the past. Even after reinstatement, depression can continue for up to two years, especially in individuals with an unfavorable family climate and lack of social support.

The present time is characterized by such socially determined pathogenic factors as local wars, armed conflicts, terrorist acts, - they lead to persistent mental health disorders not only among the direct participants, but also among the civilian population. It is not easy for a person to get used to war - to its dangers and hardships, to a different scale of life values ​​and priorities. Mental disorders are detected in 60-85% of people who have experienced such powerful stressful effects.

The modern period of development of society is also characterized by an increase in contradictions between man and the environment, which is reflected in environmental disaster, in a sharp increase in man-made disasters. Natural disasters and man-made disasters change a person's life and potentiate the development of mental disorders. Their impact on mental health has been proven in the course of transcultural studies, when examining the population in ecologically unfavorable regions, in areas of natural and man-made disasters. An example is the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. 10 years after the accident, the mental state of 68.9% of the liquidators corresponded to post-traumatic stress disorder, in 42.5% of cases there were intellectual-mnestic disorders. Every third liquidator was diagnosed with chronic alcoholism, among all those who died during this period, 10% committed suicide.

There is as yet no conclusive evidence for the effect of radiation exposure on genetic outcomes. However, the effect of background radiation on the appearance of mentally disabled offspring can be indirectly judged by the results of epidemiological studies in regions with a long-term elevated level of radiation. In such regions (for example, in the Semipalatinsk region) children with mental disabilities are born 3-5 times more than the national average.

With ecological trouble, there is a coexistence of mental, somatic and neurological changes; conjugation of exogenous (external) and psychogenic (personal) reactions.

The effectiveness of mental adaptation to the impact of environmental factors directly depends on the organization of microsocial interaction. Social activity, a wide range of communication ties have a positive effect on the emotional state, increase the ability to withstand stress. Social support is usually sought among close people - family members or friends. Colleagues at work can also provide support. In conflict situations in the family or industrial sphere, difficulties in building informal communication, resistance to stress turns out to be worse than with effective social interaction and the presence of psychological support. The narrowing of the circle of confidential communication can explain the fact that housewives are more likely to develop symptoms of mental disorders than working women. The presence of social support, including from social workers, significantly reduces the degree of influence of negative socio-psychological factors, economic difficulties (for example, short-term job loss). This model is called stress buffer model. Social support helps maintain positive self-esteem, optimism about the future, and thus prevent the development of neurotic and emotional reactions. It is important that the degree of social support correlates with the scale of negative life events.

provoking factors. These factors cause the development of the disease. Some people with increased susceptibility to a mental disorder, however, never get sick or stay sick for a very long time. Usually provoking factors act non-specifically. The time of onset of the disease depends on them, but not the nature of the disease itself. Triggers can be physical, psychological, or social. Physical factors include physical illness and injury, such as a brain tumor, traumatic brain injury, or loss of a limb. At the same time, physical damage and disease can be in the nature of psychological trauma and cause mental illness (neurosis). Life events can act as both a psychological factor and a social factor (loss of a job, divorce, loss of a loved one, moving to a new place of residence, etc.).

Socio-psychological factors are reflected in the clinical design and content of painful experiences. Recently, obsessive fears that are associated with reality have become widespread - these are speedophobia, radiophobia, ideas of exposure to neurotropic weapons, children often have fears that reflect the now so widely shown horror films with robots, vampires, ghosts, aliens, etc. . At the same time, there are forms of painful beliefs and fears that have come to us from the distant past - damage, witchcraft, obsession, the evil eye.

supporting factors. The duration of the disease after its onset depends on them. When planning treatment and social work with the patient, it is especially important to give them due attention. When the initial predisposing and provoking factors have already ceased their influence, supporting factors exist and can be corrected. In the early stages, many mental illnesses lead to secondary demoralization and social withdrawal, which in turn prolongs the original disorder. The social worker must take steps to correct these secondary personality factors and eliminate the social consequences of the disease.

Questions for self-control

1. List the predisposing, provoking and supporting risk factors for the development of mental illness.

2. What is the role of biological factors in mental health?

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Health Risk Factors

Experts of the World Health Organization (WHO) in the 80s of the last century determined the approximate ratio of various factors for ensuring the health of a modern person, highlighting four as the main ones. Using the latter, in 1994, the Interdepartmental Commission of the Security Council of the Russian Federation on the protection of public health in the Federal concepts of "Protection of public health" defined this ratio in relation to our country as follows:

Genetic factor - 15-20%;

The state of the environment - 20-25%;

Medical support - 10-15%;

Conditions and lifestyle - 50-55%.

The content of each of the factors of ensuring health can be determined as follows (Table 1):

Table 1

Determining the content of health factors

The value of the contribution of individual factors of different nature to health indicators depends on age, gender, individual typological characteristics of a person.

Genetic factors should be considered in a broad and narrow sense. In a broad sense, as mechanisms of adaptation to the conditions of existence inherited in the process of evolution of the animal world. In the narrow sense of the word, genetic factors should be understood as the features of life support inherited from the closest ancestors of the family.

All diseases associated with genetic factors can be divided into three groups:

Chromosomal and gene diseases: hemophilia, Down's disease. The main factor is the presence of altered or weakened chromosomes and genes, which, under certain conditions (adverse environmental conditions, alcohol, drug use, other bad habits of parents) acquire a leading role;

Hereditary diseases that manifest themselves in the process of individual development and are due to the weakness of certain hereditary mechanisms; such weakness with an unhealthy lifestyle can lead to the occurrence of certain types of metabolic disorders (diabetes mellitus, gout), mental disorders;

Hereditary predisposition that when exposed to certain environmental factors can lead to diseases such as atherosclerosis, hypertension, peptic ulcer, bronchial asthma.

Taking into account hereditary factors through the rationalization of a person's lifestyle can make his life healthy and long.

DNA is the abbreviation for deoxyribonucleic acid. Its molecule is similar to a spirally twisted rope ladder. Contains the genetic code of an organism.

Most often, hereditary disorders are caused by the lifestyle of future parents or mothers. For the normal development of the fetus, the mother needs increased physical activity, the absence of overeating, as well as mental overload of a social, professional and domestic nature.

Environment. The environmental factors that affect the body include: energy impacts (including physical fields), dynamic and chemical nature of the atmosphere, water component, physical, chemical and mechanical characteristics of the Earth's surface, the nature of biosystems of the area and their landscape combinations; balance and stability of climatic and landscape conditions and the rhythm of natural phenomena.

The significant dependence of man on natural factors and their unpredictability predetermined the desire of man to make himself more secure, independent from the vicissitudes of nature. To do this, he created and invented more and more new, facilitating his life, more and more favorable conditions for existence and perfect tools for maintaining life conditions (clothing, housing, furniture, etc.), which made it possible to obtain products and products at a lower cost of muscular labor.

The environment, with its physical, chemical, climatic, biological and other parameters, from the point of view of the evolution of biological species, is relatively conservative. Its gradual changes (on the scale of life of generations of animal organisms) caused the corresponding adaptive rearrangements of animal species, contributing to evolution itself. That is, the latter in itself meant the transformation of biological species in accordance with changes in the environment. However, the situation began to change to an increasing extent from the moment a man appeared on Earth, who did not himself begin to adapt to nature, but began to more actively transform nature “for himself”. This process was purposeful in the idea of ​​creating new reservoirs, reversing rivers, and so on. At the same time, in addition to the directly expected effects, there were also harmful consequences: the depletion of natural resources, the release of an increasing amount of production waste into the atmosphere, land and water, the creation of artificial sources of radioactivity, and the destruction of the ozone layer. Of particular concern is the fact that nature is a resource that is depleted but not restored.

Human activity to transform nature - purposefully and indirectly - has led to the emergence of relatively new conditions of existence for him, the so-called "second nature". It includes all changes in the natural environment, artificially caused by people and characterized by a lack of systemic self-maintenance, that is, gradually destroying without supporting human influence (artificial reservoirs, megacities, etc.). The “third nature” refers to the entire artificial world, created by man and having no analogue in natural nature, systemically alien to it and immediately starting to collapse without continuous renewal (asphalt, interior space, cultural and architectural environment).

The increase in the level of mechanization and automation of labor processes led to a sharp decrease in physical labor and increased the number of nervous loads. In the middle of the 19th century, 95% of the energy needed in the production came from the muscles of animals and humans,
and in the 70s of the 20th century - only 0.5%. On the one hand, a person has the opportunity to receive a useful result with less expenditure of his energy, and on the other hand, he received an unpredictable result that is unfavorable in terms of detraining for his health. Urbanization and urban lifestyle lead, among other things, to a certain lag in the emotional development of the individual from the growth of the intellectual principle.

Urbanization- socio-demographic process, which consists in the growth of the urban population, the number and size of cities, the spread of the urban lifestyle, and the decrease in agricultural activity.

Conditions and lifestyle. A way of life is a sustainable way of human life that has developed under certain socio-ecological conditions, manifested in the norms of communication, behavior, and way of thinking. Recently, when it became clear that medicine cannot not only prevent, but also cope with the wave of pathology that has fallen upon it, interest in a healthy lifestyle has attracted more and more attention from both specialists and the general public.

Diseases of modern man are caused, first of all, by his way of life and everyday behavior. Currently, a healthy lifestyle is considered as the basis for disease prevention. This is confirmed, in particular, by the fact that in the United States, the reduction in infant mortality by 80% and the mortality of the entire population by 94%, the increase in life expectancy by 85% is associated not with the success of medicine, but with the improvement of living and working conditions and the rationalization of the way the life of the population. At the same time, in our country, 78% of men and 52% of women lead an unhealthy lifestyle.

Healthy lifestyle there is a way of life that corresponds to the genetically determined typological features of a given person, specific living conditions and is aimed at the formation, preservation and strengthening of health and the full performance by a person of his socio-biological functions.

A healthy lifestyle combines everything that contributes to the performance of professional, social and domestic functions by a person in optimal conditions for health and expresses the orientation of the individual towards the formation, preservation and strengthening of both individual and public health.

In the literature, in advertising, at the household level and through other channels of information, unfortunately, quite often, the possibility of maintaining and strengthening health is considered and offered at the expense of some remedy that has miraculous properties (motor activity of one kind or another, nutritional supplements, psychotraining). body cleansing). The number of such funds is incalculable. Hippocrates considered human health to be a specific element of a healthy lifestyle, and Democritus considered the spiritual principle. The desire to achieve health at the expense of any one means is fundamentally wrong, since it does not cover the whole variety of interconnections of the functional systems that form the human body, and the connections of the person himself with nature - all that, ultimately, determines the harmony of his life and health. Based on this, a healthy lifestyle should include the following factors: optimal motor mode, rational nutrition, rational mode of life, psychophysical regulation, immunity training and hardening, and the absence of bad habits.

A healthy lifestyle as a system consists of three main interrelated and interchangeable elements, three cultures: a culture of food, a culture of movement and a culture of emotions. Separate health-improving methods do not provide the desired and stable improvement of health, because they do not affect the integral psychosomatic structure of a person. Even Socrates said that "the body is no longer separate and independent of the soul."

Psychosomatics- (Greek psyche - soul and soma - body) - a direction of medical psychology that studies the influence of psychological factors on the occurrence of a number of somatic diseases (bronchial asthma, hypertension, peptic ulcer
duodenum, etc.).

food culture. In a healthy lifestyle, nutrition is decisive, system-forming, because. It has a positive effect on both physical activity and emotional stability. With proper nutrition, food best matches the natural technologies for the assimilation of nutrients developed during evolution. Natural plant foods (vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts, seeds, honey) fully meet these requirements, and animal foods should be classified as emergency.

Movement culture. Only aerobic physical exercises (walking, running, swimming, skiing) in natural conditions have a healing effect. They can be combined with sun and air baths, cleansing and hardening water treatments.

Aerobics- a system of exercises associated with the manifestation of endurance, aimed at increasing the functionality of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems.

Culture of emotions. Negative emotions (envy, fear) have tremendous destructive power. Positive emotions (laughter, joy, love, gratitude) preserve health and contribute to success.

In establishing a healthy lifestyle for each person, it is necessary to take into account both his typological features (type of nervous activity, morphofunctional type), and age and gender, the social environment in which he lives (marital status, profession, traditions, working conditions, material support , life). An important place in the initial assumptions should be occupied by the personal and motivational characteristics of a given person, his life guidelines, which in themselves can be a serious incentive to a healthy lifestyle.

Thus, the following key provisions form the basis of a healthy lifestyle:

An active carrier of a healthy lifestyle is a specific person as a subject and object of his life and social status;

In the implementation of a healthy lifestyle, a person acts in the unity of his biological and social principles;

The formation of a healthy lifestyle is based on a person's personal motivational attitude to the embodiment of their social, physical, intellectual and mental capabilities and abilities;

A healthy lifestyle is the most effective means and method of ensuring health, primary prevention of disease and meeting the vital need for health.

When transitioning to a healthy lifestyle:

The worldview changes, spiritual values ​​become a priority, the meaning of life is acquired;

Physiological and mental dependence on alcohol, tobacco, drugs disappears; a good mood is formed by "hormones of joy" - endorphins, which are formed in the human body;

The heart works more economically, so it is more durable;

Puberty of adolescents comes later, which contributes to the convergence in time of sexual and social maturity.

Thus, a healthy lifestyle should be purposefully and constantly formed during a person's life, and not depend on circumstances and life situations. In this case, it will be a lever of primary prevention, strengthening and formation of health, will improve the body's reserve capabilities, and ensure the successful implementation of social and professional functions.

The path of each person to a healthy lifestyle is marked by its own characteristics, both in time and along the trajectory. This circumstance is not of fundamental importance, since the final result is important. The effectiveness of a healthy lifestyle for a given person can be determined by a number of biosocial criteria, including:

Assessment of morphological and functional indicators of health: the level of physical development, the level of physical fitness, the level of human adaptive capabilities;

Assessment of the state of immunity: the number of colds and infectious diseases during a certain period;

Assessment of adaptation to the socio-economic conditions of life (taking into account the effectiveness of professional activity, the success of the activity and its "physiological value" and psycho-physiological characteristics); breadth and manifestations of social and personal interests;

Assessment of the level of valeological literacy, including: the degree of formation of a healthy lifestyle; the level of valeological knowledge and skills related to the maintenance and promotion of health; the ability to independently build an individual health trajectory and a healthy lifestyle program.

Valeology(lat. vale - be healthy and logos - science) - the science of the manifestation of health, the laws and mechanisms of its formation, preservation and strengthening.

motor mode. Motor activity is a mandatory and determining factor that determines the unfolding of the structural and functional genetic program of the body in the process of individual age development. This was well understood in ancient India, China and other countries - even then in the life and education of people they used gymnastics, breathing exercises, massage.

Physical activity is a purposeful motor activity of a person aimed at strengthening health, developing physical potential and achieving physical perfection for the effective realization of one's inclinations, taking into account personal motivation and social needs.

At present, humanity has accumulated numerous facts of the beneficial effect of physical activity on the level of metabolic processes, the function of internal organs, the volume of muscle tissue, an increase in the vital capacity of the lungs, and the state of the cardiovascular system of the human body. It is generally recognized that rational physical activity, leading to an increase in the power and stability of the mechanism of general adaptation due to the improvement of the functions of the central nervous system, recovery processes, allows maintaining a person's health and working capacity at a high level.

When using motor load in individual and group sessions, muscle deficiency is replenished. At the same time, the reserve capabilities of the body are turned on, its functional state improves. Motor activity is a non-specific stimulus that involves all parts of the nervous system in response, and acts as a general effect on the human body. It stimulates the physiological processes in the body and increases the tone of the system, and hence its sensitivity and ability to respond. Physical exercise increases the resistance and completeness of anti-stress physiological reactions. But these features of physical activity are most well manifested when a certain optimum in dosage is found, at which the greatest sensitivity of the body develops.

Physical exercises: gymnastics, walking, hiking, running, breathing exercises, as well as water procedures, massage, are an important condition for the prevention and preservation of health. They have a deep and beneficial, as well as revitalizing, stimulating and healing effect on the body. They counteract many painful changes and ailments: blood vessels expand, blood circulation and respiration normalize, the general condition of the body improves; the stimuli arising in the muscles, joints and skin during exercise are transmitted to the internal organs, activating their activity.

Currently, one of the serious problems that most adversely affects human health is the lack of movement. Hypokinesia causes a whole range of changes in the functioning of the body, which is commonly referred to as hypodynamia.

Hypokinesia- a long-term decrease in motor activity, accompanied in some cases by somatic and vegetative disorders.

Hypodynamia- violation in the body of the functions of the cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive systems, musculoskeletal system, in some cases, the psyche due to a decrease in the level of effort during motor activity.

Over the past century and a half, the share of human and animal muscle energy in the energy supply of technological processes has decreased to a negligible level (Table 2). Well-appointed dwellings, the development of a network of transport communications and many other achievements of civilization ultimately led to such a low level of physical activity of modern man, which gave reason to call him an "active loafer."

table 2

Changes in the ratio of the types of energy used during

Socio-economic development of mankind (in%)

Modern education and automated production create a more pronounced emotional tension, which is not accompanied by active motor activity. Hypokinesia reduces the strength and endurance of muscles, reduces their tone, reduces the volume of muscle mass, red and white muscle fibers, impairs coordination of movements, leads to pronounced functional changes: heart contractions become more frequent, the stroke and minute volume of blood circulation decreases, as well as the volume of circulating blood, decreases the capacity of the vascular bed, the time of the general circulation of blood slows down.

The most fundamental change in human life is that it provides thermal stability and protection from harmful factors not due to physical activity and the mobilization of adaptive reserves, but to a greater extent due to the social assessment of one's work and the ability to adapt to social rather than production conditions of life.

The whole range of negative health consequences during hypokinesia can be represented as follows: according to I.M. According to the Arshavian law of functions curtailment as unnecessary, the capabilities of any body system correspond to the level of activity demanded from it.

A decrease in the level of functioning leads to atrophy or dystrophy of tissues with a decrease in functional reserves. Muscular activity is one of the mechanisms for the integration of functional systems and their adjustment to a given level of activity. A decrease in a person's motor activity leads to a compensatory restructuring of all types of metabolism: mineral, fat, protein, carbohydrate, water. Hypodynamia turns off the final link of the stress reaction - movement. This leads to tension of the central nervous system, which, in the conditions of already high informational and social overload of a modern person, naturally leads to the transition of positive stress - eustress into negative stress - distress. Physical inactivity, in addition, causes noticeable changes in the immunological properties of the body and in thermoregulation.

The process of civilization is accompanied by an ever more distinct tendency to reduce the motor activity of a person and increase the load on his brain. This caused a violation of the relationship between the aspects of life that has developed in evolution, when muscle activity is the final, executive link in mental processes, since there is a direct relationship between them. The shift in these relations in a modern person has led to an increase in mental stress, which also affects the change in the structure and correlation of individual periods and phases of sleep, designed to give the body not only passive rest, but also to sort and assimilate the information received, freeing the brain to perceive new information flows. In this position, sleep does not give a feeling of complete rest, and the brain begins a new period of work, not yet freed from the previously received information. Naturally, this leads to an increase in mental stress, to a distortion of the nervous regulation of the activity of vital systems. A natural consequence of such disorders are many psychosomatic diseases, in particular, diseases of the cardiovascular system. Fundamentals of labor physiology. Health and educational environment The influence of natural and environmental factors on human health Influence of socio-ecological factors on human health Self-education and health All pages

They can be conditionally divided into two groups: objective, or environmental factors, and subjective, due to individual personality characteristics.

Let us first discuss the influence of environmental factors. They are usually understood as family unfavorable factors and unfavorable factors associated with children's institutions, professional activities, and the socio-economic situation in the country. It is clear that environmental factors are most significant for the psychological health of children and adolescents, so we will reveal them in more detail.

Quite often, the difficulties of the child originate in infancy (from birth to a year). It is well known that the most significant factor in the normal development of an infant's personality is communication with the mother, and a lack of communication can lead to various kinds of developmental disorders in the child. However, in addition to the lack of communication, other, less obvious types of interaction between the mother and the baby can be distinguished, which adversely affect his psychological health. Thus, the pathology of an overabundance of communication, which leads to overexcitation and overstimulation of the child, is opposite to the lack of communication. It is this kind of upbringing that is quite typical for many modern families, but it is it that is traditionally regarded as favorable and is not considered as a risk factor either by the parents themselves or even by psychologists, so we will describe it in more detail. Overexcitation and overstimulation of the child can be observed in the case of maternal overprotection with the removal of the father, when the child plays the role of an “emotional crutch of the mother” and is in a symbiotic relationship with her. Such a mother constantly stays with the child, does not leave him for a minute, because she feels good with him, because without a child she feels emptiness and loneliness. Another option is continuous excitation, selectively directed to one of the functional areas: nutrition or bowel movements. As a rule, this variant of interaction is implemented by an anxious mother, who is madly worried about whether the child has eaten the prescribed grams of milk, whether and how regularly she has emptied her intestines. Usually she is well acquainted with all the norms of child development. For example, she carefully monitors whether the child began to roll over from his back to his stomach in time. And if he is delayed with the coup for several days, he is very worried and runs to the doctor.

The next type of pathological relationships is the alternation of overstimulation with the emptiness of relationships, i.e. structural disorganization, disorder, discontinuity, anarchy of the child's life rhythms. In Russia, this type is most often implemented by a student mother, i.e., who does not have the opportunity to constantly care for the child, but then tries to make amends for her guilt with continuous caresses.

And the last type is formal communication, that is, communication devoid of erotic manifestations necessary for the normal development of the child. This type can be implemented by a mother who seeks to completely build child care according to books, doctor's advice, or a mother who is next to the child, but for one reason or another (for example, conflicts with the father) is not emotionally included in the care process.

Disturbances in the interaction of the child with the mother can lead to the formation of such negative personality formations as anxious attachment and distrust of the world around them instead of normal attachment and basic trust (M. Ainsworth, E. Erickson). It should be noted that these negative formations are stable, persist until primary school age and beyond, however, in the process of child development, they acquire various forms, “colored” by age and individual characteristics. As examples of the actualization of anxious attachment at primary school age, one can name an increased dependence on adult assessments, the desire to do homework only with mom. And distrust of the world around is often manifested in younger students as destructive aggressiveness or strong unmotivated fears, and both of them, as a rule, are combined with increased anxiety.

It should also be noted the role of infancy in the occurrence of psychosomatic disorders. As many authors note, it is with the help of psychosomatic symptoms (gastric colic, sleep disturbances, etc.) that the child reports that the maternal function is performed unsatisfactorily. Due to the plasticity of the child's psyche, it is possible to completely free him from psychosomatic disorders, but the variant of the continuity of somatic pathology from early childhood to adulthood is not excluded. With the preservation of the psychosomatic language of reaction in some younger schoolchildren, the school psychologist often has to meet.

At an early age (from 1 to 3 years), the relationship with the mother also remains important, but the relationship with the father also becomes important for the following reasons.

Early age is especially significant for the formation of the "I" of the child. It must free itself from the support that the "I" of the mother provided to it in order to achieve separation from her and awareness of itself as a separate "I". Thus, the result of development at an early age should be the formation of autonomy, independence, and for this, the mother needs to let the child go to the distance that he himself wants to move away. But choosing the distance to release the child, and the pace at which this should be done, is usually quite difficult.

Thus, the unfavorable types of mother-child interaction include: a) too abrupt and rapid separation, which may be the result of the mother going to work, placing the child in a nursery, the birth of a second child, etc .; b) continuation of constant custody of the child, which is often shown by an anxious mother.

In addition, since early age is a period of an ambivalent attitude of a child to his mother and aggression is the most important form of child activity, an absolute ban on the manifestation of aggressiveness may become a risk factor, which may result in the complete displacement of aggressiveness. Thus, an always kind and obedient child who is never naughty is the “pride of a mother” and everyone’s favorite often pays for everyone’s love at a rather high price - a violation of their psychological health.

It should also be noted that an important role in the development of psychological health is played by how the upbringing of a child's neatness is carried out. This is the "basic scene" where the struggle for self-determination is played out: the mother insists on following the rules - the child defends his right to do what he wants. Therefore, a risk factor can be considered an overly strict and quick accustoming to neatness of a small child. It is curious that researchers of traditional children's folklore believe that fears of punishment for untidiness are reflected in children's scary tales, which usually begin with the appearance of a "black hand" or "dark spot": - a black spot on the walls, and the ceiling falls all the time and kills everyone ... ".

Let us now determine the place of the relationship with the father for the development of the autonomy of the child. According to G. Figdor, the father at this age should be physically and emotionally available to the child, because: a) he gives the child an example of relations with his mother - relations between autonomous subjects; b) acts as a prototype of the external world, i.e., liberation from the mother becomes not a departure to nowhere, but a departure to someone; c) is less of a conflict object than the mother and becomes a source of protection. But how rarely in modern Russia does a father want and how rarely does he have the opportunity to be near a child! Thus, the relationship with the father most often adversely affects the formation of autonomy and independence of the child.

But we need to be very clear that the unformed independence of the child at an early age can be the source of many difficulties for the younger student and, above all, the source of the problem of expressing anger and the problem of insecurity. Educators and parents often mistakenly believe that a child with an anger expression problem is one who fights, spits, and swears. It is worth reminding them that the problem can have different symptoms. In particular, one can observe the repression of anger, which is expressed in one child as a fear of growing up and depressive manifestations, in another as excessive obesity, in a third as sharp unreasonable outbursts of aggressiveness with a pronounced desire to be a good, decent boy. Quite often, repression of anger takes the form of intense self-doubt. But even more clearly unformed independence can manifest itself in the problems of adolescence. A teenager will either achieve independence with protest reactions that are not always adequate to the situation, perhaps even to the detriment of himself, or continue to remain "behind his mother's back", "paying" for this with certain psychosomatic manifestations.

Preschool age (from 3 to 6-7 years) is so significant for the formation of a child’s psychological health and is so multifaceted that it is difficult to claim an unambiguous description of risk factors for intra-family relationships, especially since it is already difficult to consider a separate interaction of a mother or father with a child, but it is necessary Discuss risk factors coming from the family system.

The most significant risk factor in the family system is the interaction of the "child - family idol" type, when the satisfaction of the child's needs prevails over the satisfaction of the needs of other family members.

The consequence of this type of family interaction may be a violation in the development of such an important neoplasm of preschool age as emotional decentration - the child's ability to perceive and take into account in his behavior the states, desires and interests of other people. A child with unformed emotional decentration sees the world only from the standpoint of his own interests and desires, does not know how to communicate with peers, understand the requirements of adults. It is these children, often well-intellectually developed, who cannot successfully adapt to school.

The next risk factor is the absence of one of the parents or a conflict relationship between them. And if the influence of an incomplete family on the development of a child has been studied quite well, then the role of conflict relationships is often underestimated. The latter cause a deep internal conflict in the child, which can lead to violations of gender identity or, moreover, cause the development of neurotic symptoms: enuresis, hysterical attacks of fear and phobias. In some children, it leads to characteristic changes in behavior: a strongly pronounced general readiness to respond, timidity and timidity, submissiveness, a tendency to depressive moods, insufficient ability to affect and fantasize. But, as G. Figdor notes, most often changes in the behavior of children attract attention only when they develop into school difficulties.

The next phenomenon that needs to be discussed within the framework of the problem of the formation of the psychological health of a preschooler is the phenomenon of parental programming, which can influence him ambiguously. On the one hand, through the phenomenon of parental programming, the assimilation of moral culture occurs - the prerequisites for spirituality. On the other hand, due to the extremely expressed need for parents' love, the child tends to adapt his behavior to meet their expectations, based on their verbal and non-verbal signals. According to E. Berne's terminology, an "adapted child" is being formed, which functions by reducing its ability to feel, to show curiosity towards the world, and in the worst case, due to living a life other than its own. We believe that the formation of an "adapted child" can be associated with education according to the type of dominant hyperprotection described by E. G. Eidemiller, when the family pays a lot of attention to the child, but at the same time interferes with his independence. On the whole, it seems to us that it is the "adjusted child", so convenient for parents and other adults, who will show the absence of the most important neoplasm of preschool age - initiative (E. Erickson), which does not always fall into the field both at primary school age and in adolescence. attention not only of parents, but also of school psychologists. The “adapted child” at school most often does not show external signs of maladaptation: learning and behavioral disorders. But upon closer examination, such a child most often demonstrates increased anxiety, self-doubt, and sometimes expressed fears.

So, we have considered family unfavorable factors in the process of child development, which can determine the violations of the psychological health of a child crossing the threshold of school. The next group of factors, as we have already mentioned, is related to children's institutions.

It should be noted the meeting in the kindergarten of the child with the first foreign significant adult - the educator, which will largely determine his subsequent interaction with significant adults. With the teacher, the child receives the first experience of polyadic (instead of dyadic - with parents) communication. Studies have shown that the educator usually does not notice about 50% of the appeals of children directed to her. And this can lead to an increase in the child's independence, a decrease in his egocentrism, and maybe to a dissatisfaction with the need for security, the development of anxiety, and psychosomatization of the child.

In addition, in kindergarten, a child may have a serious internal conflict in case of conflict relations with peers. Internal conflict is caused by contradictions between the requirements of other people and the child's capabilities, disrupts emotional comfort, and hinders the formation of personality.

Summing up the objective risk factors for a violation of the psychological health of a child entering school, we can conclude that certain intra-family factors are predominant, but the child's stay in kindergarten can also have a negative impact.

Junior school age (from 6–7 to 10 years). Here, relationships with parents begin to be mediated by the school. As A. I. Lunkov notes, if parents understand the essence of changes in the child, then the status of the child in the family rises and the child is included in new relationships. But more often conflict in the family increases for the following reasons. Parents can actualize their own fears of the school. The roots of these fears lie in the collective unconscious, for the appearance of teachers in the social arena in antiquity was a sign that parents are not omnipotent and their influence is limited. In addition, conditions are created in which it is possible to strengthen the projection of the parental desire for superiority over their own child. As K. Jung noted, the father is busy with work, and the mother wants to embody her social ambition in the child. Accordingly, the child must be successful in order to fulfill the expectations of the mother. Such a child can be recognized by his clothes: he is dressed like a doll. It turns out that he is forced to live by the desires of his parents, and not his own. But the most difficult situation is when the demands made by parents do not correspond to the capabilities of the child. Its consequences may be different, but always represent a risk factor for psychological disorders.

However, the school may be the most significant risk factor for mental health problems. Indeed, at school, for the first time, a child finds himself in a situation of socially assessed activity, i.e., his skills must correspond to the norms of reading, writing, and counting established in society. In addition, for the first time, the child gets the opportunity to objectively compare his activities with the activities of others (through assessments - points or pictures: “clouds”, “suns”, etc.). As a consequence of this, he realizes for the first time his "non-omnipotence". Accordingly, the dependence on the assessments of adults, especially teachers, increases. But it is especially important that for the first time the self-consciousness and self-esteem of the child receive strict criteria for his development: success in studies and school behavior. Accordingly, the younger schoolchild learns himself only in these areas and builds his self-esteem on the same foundations. However, due to the limited criteria, situations of failure can lead to a significant decrease in children's self-esteem.

Conventionally, the following stages can be distinguished in the process of reducing self-esteem. First, the child is aware of his school inability as the inability to "be good." But at this stage, the child retains the belief that he can become good in the future. Then faith disappears, but the child still wants to be good. In a situation of persistent long-term failure, the child may not only realize his inability to "become good", but already lose the desire for this, which means a persistent deprivation of the claim to recognition.

Deprivation of the claim to recognition in younger schoolchildren can manifest itself not only in a decrease in self-esteem, but also in the formation of inadequate defensive response options. At the same time, the active variant of behavior usually includes various manifestations of aggression towards animate and inanimate objects, compensation in other activities. The passive option is a manifestation of insecurity, shyness, laziness, apathy, withdrawal into fantasy or illness.

In addition, if a child perceives the results of learning as the only criteria of his own value, while sacrificing imagination, play, he acquires a limited identity, according to E. Erickson - "I am only what I can do." It becomes possible to form a feeling of inferiority, which can negatively affect both the current situation of the child and the formation of his life scenario.

Adolescence (from 10-11 to 15-16 years). This is the most important period for the formation of independence. In many ways, the success of achieving independence is determined by family factors, or rather, by how the process of separating the adolescent from the family is carried out. The separation of a teenager from a family is usually understood as building a new type of relationship between a teenager and his family, based no longer on guardianship, but on partnership. This is a rather difficult process both for the teenager himself and for his family, since the family is not always ready to let the teenager go. A teenager is not always able to adequately dispose of their independence. However, the consequences of an incomplete separation from the family - the inability to take responsibility for one's life - can be observed not only in youth, but also in adulthood, and even in old age. Therefore, it is so important that parents know how to provide a teenager with such rights and freedoms that he can dispose of without threatening his psychological and physical health.

A teenager differs from a younger student in that the school no longer affects his psychological health through the implementation or deprivation of the claim to recognition in educational activities. Rather, the school can be seen as a place where one of the most important psychosocial conflicts of growing up takes place, also aimed at achieving independence and self-reliance.

As can be seen, the influence of external environmental factors on psychological health decreases from infancy to adolescence. Therefore, the influence of these factors on an adult is difficult to describe. A psychologically healthy adult, as we said earlier, should be able to adequately adapt to any risk factors without compromising health. Therefore, we turn to the consideration of internal factors.

As we have said, psychological health involves resilience to stressful situations, so it is necessary to discuss those psychological characteristics that cause reduced resilience to stress. Let's look at temperament first. Let's start with the classic experiments of A. Thomas, who identified the properties of temperament, which he called "difficult": irregularity, low adaptive ability, tendency to avoid, the prevalence of bad mood, fear of new situations, excessive stubbornness, excessive distractibility, increased or decreased activity. The difficulty of this temperament lies in the increased risk of conduct disorders. However, these disorders, and it is important to note, are caused not by the properties themselves, but by their special interaction with the child's environment. Thus, the difficulty of temperament lies in the fact that it is difficult for adults to perceive its properties, it is difficult to apply educational influences adequate to them.

Quite interestingly, the individual properties of temperament in terms of the risk of psychological health disorders were described by J. Strelyau. In view of the special importance of his position, let us consider it in more detail. J. Strelyau believed that temperament is a set of relatively stable characteristics of behavior, manifested in the energy level of behavior and in the temporal parameters of reactions.

Since, as noted above, temperament modifies the educational influences of the environment, J. Strelyau and his colleagues conducted research on the relationship between the properties of temperament and some personality traits. It turned out that such a connection is most pronounced in relation to one of the characteristics of the energy level of behavior - reactivity. In this case, reactivity is understood as the ratio of the strength of the reaction to the stimulus that caused it. Accordingly, highly reactive children are those who react strongly even to small stimuli, while weakly reactive children are those with a weak intensity of reactions. Highly reactive and low reactive children can be distinguished by their reactions to the comments of teachers. Weakly reactive comments from teachers or bad grades will make you behave better or write cleaner, i.e. improve their performance. In highly reactive children, on the contrary, there may be a deterioration in activity. For them, a strict look is enough to understand the dissatisfaction of the teacher.

Interestingly, according to research results, highly reactive children are most often characterized by increased anxiety. They also have a reduced threshold for fear, reduced performance. A passive level of self-regulation is characteristic, i.e., weak perseverance, low efficiency of actions, poor adaptation of one's goals to the real state of affairs. Another dependence was also found: the inadequacy of the level of claims (unrealistically low or high). These studies allow us to conclude that the properties of temperament are not sources of psychological health disorders, but a significant risk factor that cannot be ignored.

Now let's see how the reduced resistance to stress is associated with any personality factors. There are no clearly defined positions on this issue today. But we are ready to agree with V. A. Bodrov, who, following S. Kobasa, believes that cheerful people are the most psychologically stable, respectively, people with a low mood background are less stable. In addition, they identify three more main characteristics of sustainability: control, self-esteem and criticality. In this case, control is defined as a locus of control. In their opinion, externals who see most events as the result of chance and do not associate them with personal involvement are more prone to stress. Internals, on the other hand, have greater internal control, more successfully cope with stress. Self-esteem here is a sense of one's own destiny and one's own capabilities. Difficulty coping with stress in people with low self-esteem comes from two types of negative self-image. First, people with low self-esteem have higher levels of fear or anxiety. Second, they perceive themselves as having insufficient ability to face the threat. Accordingly, they are less energetic in taking preventive measures, they strive to avoid difficulties, because they are convinced that they will not cope with them. If people rate themselves highly enough, then it is unlikely that they will interpret many events as emotionally difficult or stressful. In addition, if stress arises, they show greater initiative and therefore cope with it more successfully. The next necessary quality is criticality. It reflects the degree of importance for a person of security, stability and predictability of life events. It is optimal for a person to have a balance between the desire for risk and security, for change and for maintaining stability, for admitting uncertainty and for controlling events. Only such a balance will allow a person to develop, change, on the one hand, and prevent self-destruction, on the other. As you can see, the personal prerequisites for stress resistance described by V. A. Bodrov echo the structural components of psychological health that we identified earlier: self-acceptance, reflection and self-development, which once again proves their necessity. Accordingly, negative self-attitude, insufficiently developed reflection and lack of desire for growth and development can be called personal prerequisites for reduced resistance to stress.

So, we looked at the risk factors for mental health disorders. However, let's try to dream up: what if the child grows up in an absolutely comfortable environment? Probably, he will be absolutely psychologically healthy? What kind of personality will we get in the event of a complete absence of external stress factors? Let us cite the point of view of S. Freiberg on this score. As S. Freiberg says, “recently it has been customary to consider mental health as a product of a special “diet”, which includes appropriate portions of love and security, constructive toys, healthy peers, excellent sex education, control and release of emotions; all this together forms a balanced and healthy menu. Reminiscent of boiled vegetables, which, although nutritious, do not cause appetite. The product of such a "diet" will become a well-oiled boring person.

In addition, if we consider the development of psychological health only from the point of view of risk factors, it becomes incomprehensible why not all children “break down” in adverse conditions, but, on the contrary, sometimes achieve success in life, moreover, their successes are socially significant. It is also not clear why we often encounter children who grew up in a comfortable external environment, but at the same time need one or another psychological help.

Therefore, consider the following question: what are the optimal conditions for the formation of a person's psychological health.

According to the definition of the World Health Organization (WHO), human health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being. The World Health Organization describes 24 factors that have a real impact on our well-being, the main of which are grouped into 4 groups: human lifestyle, environment (ecology); heredity (genetic); health care system.

The image of a person's life. The share of these factors is 50%. These include: nutrition, physical activity, resistance to stress, the presence of bad habits (smoking, alcohol abuse, drug addiction).

Food. From the first to the last days of man, life is connected with food. It supports our life, energizes us, nourishes the brain, ensures the growth and renewal of obsolete cells. But a person often does not follow the basic principles of rational nutrition: balance, moderation, variety and diet.

Balanced nutrition is a balance of energy, that is, how much a person has eaten, so much he should spend in the course of his life or physical activity. A proper and healthy diet should contain all the nutrients for the body. Every day, the body should receive a sufficient amount of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, water and plant fibers. A variety of nutrients and vitamins ensures a balanced intake of the necessary substances in your body.

Diet moderation. The digestive system cannot cope with excess food, the food is fermented and putrefied, the body is poisoned.

Meal mode - 3 or 4 meals a day (breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner). Eating at certain hours improves the functioning of the digestive system.

Physical activity is a biologically determined necessity, neglect of which leads not only to flabbiness and sagging of the skin, loss of an attractive figure, but also to the development of diseases: cardiovascular and respiratory systems; suffer from the musculoskeletal system, gastrointestinal system; blood clotting increases; metabolism is disturbed, the necessary substances - phosphorus, calcium, iron, nitrogen, sulfur and others - begin to be actively excreted from the body. Physical inactivity is a risk factor for the development of various diseases of the joints, ligaments, spine, etc.

Movement is food for the muscles of the human body. Without this “nutrition”, the muscles will quickly atrophy. The harm to physical inactivity for health lies in the fact that muscle mass decreases, and the fat layer, on the contrary, increases. This leads to obesity, but it is dangerous not only in itself. The aphorism “Movement is life” should firmly enter your consciousness.

Having bad habits. Many people underestimate the harm of smoking and alcohol on their body, but meanwhile alcohol and smoking are now an integral part of the lives of many people.

For some, this is a way of life, someone resorts to it to relieve stress, and some smoke and drink only on holidays. Whatever the reason for these types of habits for you, you must remember that they are detrimental to your body. In addition, your bad habits have a direct and indirect effect on the people around you, especially relatives and friends.

Stress tolerance. Stress and depression are widespread in the modern world: changes associated with a change of place of study or work, psycho-emotional overstrain due to a large amount of work, reduced physical activity, disruption of work and rest, which have different effects on the body depending on the degree overwork and loads.

The state of the environment (ecology) makes up 20% of all risk factors. The development of many diseases depends on weather conditions, geographical location, and environmental conditions. For example, low air humidity provokes drying of the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract, which results in a weakening of local immunity and an increase in the frequency of SARS; high humidity - respiratory diseases, chronic runny nose, bronchitis, etc. A particular danger is the pollution of atmospheric air and drinking water.

Heredity (genetics) occupy 20% of all risk factors. These include the genetic characteristics of the human body. We all have our own genetic program, which includes a predisposition to certain diseases. Naturally, it will not be possible to get rid of one's own genes, but one can take precautions. Therefore, first of all, it is necessary to protect oneself from those harmful influences that can only aggravate the hereditary predisposition and cause the development of diseases presented by the ancestors.

Health care system. At first glance, the share of health responsibility for health (10%) seems surprisingly low. But it is with him that most people connect their hopes for health. This approach is due primarily to the fact that a person most often remembers health when he is already sick. Recovery, of course, he connects with medicine. However, at the same time, a person does not think about the fact that the doctor is not engaged in protecting health, but in treating the disease.

The current principles of treatment, as a rule, are based on a gross intervention in the normal course of physiological processes, and do not use the body's own adaptive capabilities. This explains the low effectiveness of such treatment and the low degree of dependence of the health of a modern person on medical support. In this regard, the words of Hippocrates “medicine often calms, sometimes it relieves, rarely it heals”, unfortunately, in many cases they are still relevant today.

Any of the risk factors is harmful in itself, but their combination is especially harmful. If several are present at the same time, then retribution in the form of certain diseases will follow quickly and inevitably. Therefore, knowing what risk factors for health exist and trying to minimize them, each of us can prolong our lives with our own hands and protect us from the appearance of many unpleasant diseases.

Health is a great happiness, and therefore it must be protected, constantly take care of yourself and try to avoid all those factors that can cause irreparable damage to the human body.